0^990.05 


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C^^-^rd^ 


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Library  of 
The  University  of  North  Carolina 


COLLECTION  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


ENDOWED  BY 

JOHN  SPRUNT  HILL 

of  the  Class  of  1889 


Qa'^o.o^-cs^.h 


^m^' 


26th  Congress, 
1st  Sessio?i. 


Doc.  No.  222. 


Ho.  OF  Rep®; 


INDIANS— CHEROKEES. 


May  26,  1840. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs, 


To  the  Honorable  ike  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives : 

Gentlemen:  The  undersigned,  a  delegation  representing  the  Cherokee 
JVation,  understand  that  you  are  engaged  in  considering  questions  of  vital 
importance  to  us  and  to  our  country.  We  learn  that  our  memorial  has 
been  referred  to  you  ;  and,  since  it  was  submitted  by  us  to  tiie  House  of 
Representatives,  we  Iiave  seen  other  documents  on  the  subject,  vvhicli  have 
also  been  placed  before  you,  and  which  we  fear  may  lead  you  into  miscon- 
structions unless  you  obtain  some  further  information,  which  we  take  the 
freedom  to  offer. 

We  find  that  you  have  not  been  furnished  with  our  constitution  and 
laws.  These  were  passed  after  the  act  of  union  which,  on  the  23d  of  Au- 
gust, 1S39,  cancelled  the  distinction  between  eastern  and  western  Chero- 
kees,  and  united  the  two  sets  of  our  emigrants  into  one  nation.  We  en- 
close n  printed  copy  of  all  these  instrnm.ents,  that  you  may  judge  for  your- 
selves how  far  the  Secretary  of  War  is  authorized  by  facts  in  insinuating 
very  strongly  (See  Representative  document  of  the  26th  Congress,  1st  ses- 
sion, page  13),  that  our  "constitution"  and  the  "laws  for  the  government  of 
the  nation,"  "authorize  murder  and  excite  intestine  commotions." 

It  is  our  most  earnest  desire  to  establish  peace  among  ourselves  and  the 
most  friendly  relations  with  the  United  States.  We  know  that  nothing  can 
be  easier  than  the  attainment  of  these  objects,  if  the  truth  will  be  believed 
by  those  who  iiave  our  destinies  in  their  hands.  Among  ourselves  there  is 
nothing  in  the  way  of  tranquillity  but  the  wrongheadedness  of  a  very  few, 
too  inconsiderate  to  be  regarded  as  a  party,  but  deriving  importance  in  ' 
their  own  eyes,  and  in  their  effect  upon  our  nation's  prospects,  from  the 
support  of  the  United  States  Government.  There  is  no  foundation — believe 
us,  there  is  none  whatever — for  the  tales  you  hear  of  the  distractions  pre- 
vailing through  our  country.  The  very  manner  in  which  we  are  settled 
prevents  the  possibility.  The  eastern  emigrants  are  so  intermixed  with  the 
western  from  one  end  to  the  otlier  of  the  land,  that  there  cannot  exist  that 
sort  of  bitter  party  division  which  might  arise  if  masses  of  us,  each  thinking 
adversely  to  the  other,  were  respectively  banded  together.  It  is  over  and 
over  again  asserted,  by  the  agents  of  the  United* States  at  Washington,  and 
by  General  Arbuckle,  who  uniformly  echoes  their  sentiments  and  sustains 
them  by  his  reports,  that,  if  the  eastern  and  western  Cherokees  each  had  "  a 
fair  representation"  (See  the  same  document  before  quoted,  page  10),  in  the 
Cherokee  Government,  it  "  would  soon  give  quiet  to  the  people."  We  beg 
to  assure  you  that  these  assertions  are  correct  enough,  because  we  have  put 
them  to  the  test;  precisely  thus  is  our  present  Government  constituted,  and 


M  i60li 


2  Doc.  No.  222. 

the  arrangement  Jias  given  quiet  to  the  people ;"  a  quiet  which  is  ahnost 
miraculous,  considering  the  efTorts  constantly  making  to  break  it  up.  The 
convention  which  formed  the  constitution  consisted  one-halt'  of  old  settlers 
in  the  west;  and  the  present  Government,  under  that  constitution,  preserves 
about  the  same  proportion.  We  will  enumerate  the  various  western  Chero- 
kees  holding  office  under  the  new  arrangement :  Of  principal  chiefs,  we 
have  but  two.  Joseph  Vann,  our  second  principal  chief,  is  an  old  settler. 
He  was  for  many  years  second  chief  of  the  western  Cherokees,  and  was 
sometimes  in  the  council.  Of  the  six  executive  counsellors,  three  of  those 
originally  elected  were  western  Cherokees,  viz :  John  Loone^'-,  who  was, 
when  the  eastern  Cherokees  arrived,  legally  first  chief;  Aaron  Price,  who 
has  held  various  offices  among  the  western  Cherokees ;  Dutch,  who,  after 
his  appointment,  went  over  to  the  agitators.  He  is  the  same  person  who 
is  now  represented  as  the  second  chief  of  the  present  pretended  government 
of  the  western  Cherokees.  He  had  visited  the  convention,  had  approved 
of  all  its  proceedings,  and  of  the  constitution.  He  assured  his  friends  that 
if,  in  the  election  then  about  to  take  place,  he  was  elected  to  any  office,  he 
would  serve ;  and  he  was  elected  accordingly. 

Of  the  forty  members  of  the  national  committee  (which  is  divided  into 
two  branches,  viz:  a  national  committee  of  sixteen,  and  a  council  of  twen- 
ty-four), twenty-two  out  of  the  forty  are  western  Cherokees,  viz: 

Of  the  national  committee,  William  S.  Coodey,  president,  John  Drew, 
Thomas  Thumb,  John  Spears,  Bluford  West,  are  old  settlers  ;  Jos.  M. 
Lynch,  Joshua  Buffington,  Thomas  F.  Taylor,  and  Turtle  Fields,  emi- 
grated in  1837. 

Of  the  council.  Young  Wolf,  speaker,  Jesse  Russel,  Young  Elders,  To- 
bacco Will,  Thomas  Candy,  Sah-lah  tee-skee  Watts,  George  Brewer,  Moses 
Paris,  James  M.  Payne,  0-kan-stotah  Logan,  James  Campbell,  Lewis  Mel- 
ton, Nelson  Riley.  To  these  may  be  added  the  clerk  of  the  council,  David 
Carter. 

Of  the  supreme  court  judges,  five  in  all,  two  are  western  Cherokees,  viz  : 
Looney  Price,  an  old  settler  ;  .John  Martin,  emigrated  in  1837. 

Of  the  circuit  court  judges,  two  in  all,  both  are  western  Cherokees.  viz  : 
John  Thom,  an  old  settler  ;  Daniel  McCoy,  who  emigrated  in  1837. 

Of  the  district  court  judges,  Ibiu'  in  all,  two  are  western  Cherokees,  viz: 
Loony  Riley,  an  old  settler ;  John  Brewer,  who  emigrated  in  1837. 

Of  those  enumerated  in  the  preceding  list,  six  were  members  of  the  coun- 
cil of  what  General  Arbuckle  calls  "  the  old  government"  (that  is,  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  western  Cherokees),  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  eastern 
bulk  of  the  nation.     This  council  had  but  sixteen  members  in  all. 

We  have  thus  shown  that  our  government,  as  at  present  constituted,  con- 
tains more  than  the  proportion  of  western  Cherokees  which  General  Ar- 
buckle pronounces  certain  to  "  give  quiet  to  the  people."  But  if  the  powers 
at  Washington  persist  in  believing  things  in  our  country  to  be,  not  as  they 
really  are,  but  as  certain  individuals  are  bent  on  having  it  supposed  they 
are,  they  may  create  the  reverse  of  quiet,  which  they  now  wrongfully  sus- 
pect. Whatever  uneasiness  prevails  at  present  we  ascribe  to  the  confidence 
a  few  agitators  are  permitted  to  place  in  being  backed  by  the  Government 
here  ;  to  the  always  uncandid,  and  often  vindictive  course  of  General  Ar- 
buckle ;  and  to  the  marked  favor  with  which  he  treats  the  individuals  who 
have  set  themselves  up  against  the  nation.  When  the  War  Department  at 
Washington  distinctly  tells  us  (see  the  Secretary's  report  to  the  Senate^. 


RT*^ti\  ^ 


Doc.  No.  222.  S 

Doc.  347,  of  26th  Congress,  1st  session,  page  3)  what  is  the  only  sort  of 
information  it  regards  as  "  niteresting,"  and  we  tind  that  it  consists  of  the 
grossest  misrepresentations  (see  same  document,  page  21,  No,  9),  we  only 
wonder  iluit  the  Cherokees  have  fulfilled  our  aspirations  by  continuino;'  to 
be  patient.  May  they  so  continue  long,  in  despite  of  General  Arbuckle  ! 
It  is  not  enough  for  justice  that  the  general  qualifies  his  statements  with  now 
a  "  perhaps,"'  and  then  an  "  I  believe,"'  and  here  an  "  as  I  judge."  Even 
thus  qualified,  they  immediately  become  "  interesting"  at  the  department 
beyond  the  numberless  entirely  unqualified  and  multitudinously-attested 
declarations  of  our  friends  and  people ;  and  we  deprecate  this  uncandid 
course,  because  we  would  avert  its  tendencies.  In  the  letter  to  which  we 
have  just  alluded,  the  veracity  of  Mr.  Ross  is  coarsely  attacked  in  reference 
to  Mrs.  Boudinot.  General  Arbuckle  speaks  of  a  communication  from  Mr. 
Ross,  by  which  "it  would  appear  that  Mrs.  Boudinot  had  advised  Mr.  Ross 
to  leave  home  for  safety,  saying  that  Stand  Watie  had  determined  to  raise 
a  company  of  men  for  the  purpose  of  taking  his  life."  The  general  then 
asserts  that  '=  Mrs.  Boudinot,  when  leaving  this  country,  informed  Captain 
Armstrong,  acting  superintendent,  that  the  statement  of  Mr.  Ross  in  this 
particular  is  totally  destitute  of  truth."  Now,  the  actual  statement  of  Mr. 
Ross  simply  was  as  follows  (see  Representativ^e  document  No.  129,  26th 
Congress,  1st  session,  pages  54,  55) :  '•  Upon  receiving  intelligence  of  tliis 
unhappy  occurrence,  I  immediately  requested  my  brother-in-law.  John  G. 
Ross,  who,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Lenoir  and  others,  repaired  to  the  place  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  facts,  with  the  view  of  reporting  the  same 
to  you.  They  have  returned  with  a  message  from  Mrs.  Boudinot  confirm- 
ing the  report,  with  the  advice  from  her  for  me  to  leave  home  for  safety, 
saying  that  Stand  Watie  had  determined  on  raising  a  company  of  men  for 
the  purpose  of  coming  forthwith  to  take  my  life."  General  Arbuckle,  in  his 
eagerness  to  discredit  Mr.  Ross,  entirely  overlooks  the  only  point  for  him  to 
disprove — the  delivery  of  such  a  messageas  Mr.  Rossmentions.  Of  the  delivery 
of  such  a  message  exactly  as  described  by  Mr.  Ross,  there  happens  to  be  abun- 
dant evidence.  Tfiere  is  evidence  equally  abundant  of  the  unimpeachabfe  in- 
tegrity of  John  G.  Ross,  the  person  who  received  the  message  and  reported 
it.  Then,  what  are  we  to  say  for  the  subsequent  discrepancies?  Only 
this:  on  careful  inquiry,  it  appears  that  friends  of  Stand  Watie  were  in- 
censed at  the  rumor  of  a  warning  messao;e  asfainst  him  havino-  been  sent  to 
Mr.  Ross;  and  that  friends  of  Mrs.  Boudinot  account  for  any  thing  seem- 
ingly contradictory  in  her  course,  upon  the  score  of  her  having  been  too 
much  agitated  to  remember  exactly  what  she  did  say,  although  none 
deny  that  she  actually  did  send  a  message.  Is  it  unfair  to  infer  from  an 
unintentional  admission  of  General  Arbuckle,  some  time  afterward,  what 
the  nature  of  that  message  was  likely  to  have  been  ?  Says  the  general  in 
a  letter  to  be  found  at  page  422  of  Executive  Representative  document  No. 
2,  26th  Congress,  1st  session  :  "  I  am  apprized  that  several  of  those  that  as- 
sisted in  making  the  treaty  of  1835  would  have  killed  Mr.  Ross  at  the  mo- 
ment they  heard  of  the  Ridges  and  Boudinot  being  murdered,  from  the 
belief  that  lie  was  the  cause  of  their  murder.  These  mdividuals  took  pro- 
tection at  this  post  for  several  days."  Of  the  general's  own  spirit  in  rela- 
tion to  the  matter,  some  notion  may  be  gathered  from  an  occurrence  at  the 
fort  soon  after  the  act  of  union.  He  was  visited  there  by  Charles  Coodey 
and  Looney  Price.  He  seemed  much  excited  about  the  C'nciliutory  course 
of  so  many  of  the  western  Ciierokees.    He  expressed  great  surprise  at 


A  Doc.  No.  222. 

Charles  Coodey's  having  taken  so  active  a  part ;  and  he  was  answered  that, 
if  every  man  would  make  the  proper  effort  at  that  crisis,  every  thina:  would., 
be  reconciledj  and  all  be  happy  and  at  peace.  On  this,  the  general  abruptly 
and  bitterly  exclaimed:  "You  too— you  shouldered  a  rifle,  and  went  with 
all  the  rest  to  guard  John  Ross :  but  for  that,  John  Ross  would  have  been 
killed!" 

Yes,  gentlemen,  it  is  this  alacrity  to  believe  every  thing  against  us  ;  and 
especially  against  those  whom  we  trust,  and  who,  for  many  years,  have 
given  their  country  proofs  how  well  they  merit  we  should  trust  them,  that 
is  now  the  only  obstacle  to  "quiet  among  our  people."  We  do  not  wish  to 
multiply  remonstrances,  but  we  might  go  on  with  an  endless  catalogue 
of  such  grievances.  Some  ^e\Y^  however,  have  been  rendered  of  so  much 
importance  by  the  official  reports,  ihai  we  feel  ourselves  called  upon  not  to 
let  them  pass  unnoticed. 

Perhaps  not  the  least  imposing  among  these  is  the  charge  that  Mr.  Ross^ 
has  at  various  times  sent  "wampum  and  warlike  talks"  to  various  tribes 
of  Indians.  "  as  is  suppose  d,"  says  the  Secretary  of  War  (see  Executive 
Rep.  D®c.  No.  2,  page  425),  "  thereby  seeking  to  excite  hostile  feelings 
against  the  United  States."  The  Indian  Com.missioner,  in  Senate  document 
347,  page  3,  says  :  "It  has  been  heretofore  stated  that  John  Ross  had  dis- 
tributed wampum,  tobacco,  &c.,  among  certain  Indian  tribes.  A  letter," 
continues  he,  "  from  Neosho  sub-agent,  under  whose  charge  are  the 
Senecas,  and  Shawnees,  and  Q,uapaws,  under  date  of  15th  October,  was 
received  by  General  Arbuckle,  in  which  he  declared  that  it  was  true  John 
Ross  '  had  his  emissaries  v/ith  wampum,  tobacco,  &c.,  among  my  people  ;' 
and  that  'they  had  written  communications  addressed  not  only  to  the 
chiefs  of  the  three  little  tribes,  but  to  tribes  north  of  us.' "  The  letter  of 
this  Neosho  sub-agent,  whose  names  is  Calloway,  appears  in  page  19  of 
the  same  document.  It  says  the  report  about  Mr.  Ross  "is  true  as  the 
writings  of  Moses."  He  adds,  "  I  advised  these  people  not  to  meet  John 
Ross  in  council,  or  to  have  any  thing  whatever  to  do  with  him  ;  to  all  of 
which  they  promised  compliance,  except  the  chiefs  of  Senecas."  We  ask, 
if  there  were  written  communications,  why  were  they  not  obtained  ?  why 
were  they  not  produced,  in  lieu  of  these  vague  rumors?  We  earnestly 
desire  that  they  may  be  called  for  and  exhibited.  As  this  has  not  been 
done,  although  a  course  so  obvious,  we  ourselves  take  the  liberty  of  pro- 
ducing the  only  ones  we  have.  They  will  speak  for  themselves.  They 
will  show  that  the  agitators  in  our  nation  had  endeavored  to  excite  the 
neighboring  tribes  against  us,  and  that  we  wished  them  "  to  be  guarded 
against  the  false  representations  of  wicked  and  designing  men  ;"  not  to 
believe  injurious  information,  and,  if  convenient,  to  attend  the  convention 
themselves  in  person,  because  "such  a  visit  would  enable  them  to  learn  our 
true  character  and  to  detect  any  unfavorable  or  false  reports  which  may 
have  reached  them  concerning  the  Cherokees,  and  to  be  convinced  of  their 
peaceable  and  friendly  dispositions  toward  every  nation  of  the  human 
family."  (See  A  and  B.)  It  is  this  attempt  to  cherish  a  kindly  feeling 
between  our  people  and  our  neighbors,  which  has  been  distorted  into  a 
conspiracy  to  embroil  the  frontier.  It  was  at  the  suggestion  of  Tobacco 
Will  and  others,  that  the  step  was  taken.  They  feared  that  mischief  might 
result  from  the  intrigues  of  the  unfriendly,  to  mislead  our  neighbors  as  to 
our  character  and  purposes.  Once  more,  we  refer  you,  gentlemen,  to  th& 
j)apers  themselves,  which  are  appended, 


Doc.  No.  222.  S 

A  clamor  equally  loud  and  bitter  has  been  raised  against  us,  on  the  score- 
of  certain  decrees  which  have  been  stigmatized  as  murderous.  We  have  . 
been  to'd,  in  substance,  that  they  evince  a  spirit  of  proscription,  and  for 
that  reason  we  deserve  to  be  denationalized.  We  can  assure  you,  gentle- 
men, that  the  decrees  which  followed  the  killing  of  the  Ridges  and  Boudi- 
not  offered  to  us  the  only  hope  of  allaying  the  popular  excitement  against 
the  threateners  of  our  public  peace.  So  far  from  being  decrees  of  proscrip- 
tion, you  can  see  for  yourselves  they  were  decrees  providing  for  the  safety 
of  those  who  had  incensed  the  country;  and  providmg  for  that  safely  upon 
the  most  favorable  conditions  which  could  be  desired  under  all  the  circum- 
stances. It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  individuals  thus  pretended  to 
be  wantonly  proscribed,  had  long  been  regarded  by  multitudes  of  their 
countrymen  as  belonging  to  a  band  whom  they  considered  as  having  been 
saved  from  the  penalty  against  traitors  by  an  overstretch  of  forbearance  ; 
and  that  if,  in  the  sudden  outbreak,  provoked  by  mad  interferences  of  the 
tliree  leaders  of  this  band,  v/ilh  the  national  efforts  to  compose  the  difficul- 
ties created  principally  by  them,  these  three  could  no  longer  be  screened 
from  destruction,  there  must  have  been  no  small  discretion  required  to  pre- 
vent the  exasperating  threatenings  of  the  coadjutors  of  the  fallen  from 
exposing  them  to  similar  disasters. 

The  decrees  which  have  been  numbered  among  our  crimes  offered  the 
only  resourse  for  mediation  between  the  offending  and  the  offended ;  and 
these  are  the  decrees  which  have  been  calumniated  as  evidence  of  a  thirst 
for  blood  !  How  entirely  such  an  imputation  was  uncalled  for,  may  be 
distinctly  seen  from  another  decree  by  which  the  act  of  amnesty  was  im- 
mediately succeeded.  At  the  time  of  our  meeting  in  national  convention, 
there  were  numerous  cases  of  murder  undisposed  of.  Among  others,  some 
of  the  treaty  party  of  1S35,  stood  thus  charged.  One  of  them  had  slain  a 
fine  young  man,  who  was  son  of  George  Guess,  inventor  of  the  Cherokee 
alphabet,  and  nephew  of  Archibald  Campbell,  one  of  the  undersigned.. 
If  we  had  desired  to  exterminate  the  treaty  party  or  any  of  them,  these 
charges  afibrded  a  pretext  most  obvious.  But  pardon  and  peace  was  our 
object,  and  not  revenge.  We  formed  a  select  committee  on  the  subject, 
of  our  gravest  and  mildest  men.  It  was  equally  composed  of  eastern  and 
western  Cherokees.  It  was  presided  over  by  George  Guess,  the  fatlier  of 
one  of  those  who  had  been  recently  murdered.  When  the  decree  of 
oblivion  of  all  murders  was  suggested,  the  other  members  paused  for  the 
bereaved  father  to  speak  first.  Guess  felt  the  delicacy  of  the  deference.  He 
arose  ;  he  observed,  that  the  proposition  bemg  to  promote  peace,  and  extend 
mercy  to  the  guilty,  although  he  himself  most  bitterly  mourned  his  loss, 
under  the  peculiar  situation  in  which  his  country  was  placed  ;  he  saw 
the  necessity  of  their  coming  to  their  new  arrangements  with  pure  hearts 
and  clean  hands,  and  he  would  sacrifice  his  personal  resentments  to  the 
good  of  his  country.  He  was  the  first  to  pronounce  in  favor  of  the  act 
of  oblivion.  It  passed  unanimously.  When  reported  to  General  Arbuckle, 
the  general  gave  it  his  unqualified  praise. 

But,  if  even  proscription  on  our  part,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  temporary 
disqualification  of  citizens  of  our  own  from  holding  otiice,  calls  for  repro- 
bation so  severe,  and  that^  although  justified  by  the  strongest  of  provoca- 
tions, what  are  we  to  say  or  thinkof  the  unlimited  proscriptiens— proscrip- 
tions touching  character,  fortunes,  life  itself — which  are  visited  upon 
numerous  distins:nished  citizens  of   our  own,  in  the  most  uncalled-for 


6  Doc.  No.  222. 

inanner,  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  ?  Such  citizens  among 
us  are  named  by  the  Indian  Commissioner,  in  his  report  to  the  Senate, 
already  quoted  (see  page  4),  as  "  men  whose  conduct,  apart  from  any 
agency  they  may  have  had  in  these  bloody  deeds,  could  not  but  be  of  the 
most  fatal  influence."  General  Arbuckle,  in  page  27  of  the  same  docu- 
ment, asserts  that,  "it  would  appear  almost  certain,  that  Edward  Gunter 
was  in  the  woods  near  Boudinot's  when  he  was  killed  ;  and,  it  has  been 
frequently  reported  to  him  [General  Arbuckle],  that  Mr.  Lynch,  who  [was 
then]  with  Mr.  Ross,  was  present  when  John  Ridge  was  killed ;  and  that 
the  party  halted  at  his  house  the  same  day,  where  they  took  their  break- 
fast," The  general  adds  that,  "  the  information  he  had  received  of  his 
[Lynch]  being  present  when  Ridge  was  murdered,  he  could  not  fully  rely 
on,  and,  therefore,  took  no  measures  to  have  him  apprehended  ;  but  he 
has  no  doubt  of  the  party  having  called  at  his  house  the  morning  the  mur- 
der was  committed."  Seventeen  oiher  persons  are  denounced  by  name,  in 
page  16  of  the  same  document  and,  in  page  22,  two  others  ;  against  whom, 
says  the  general,  "the  evidence,  however  satisfactory  it  might  be,  of  their 
participation  in  the  foul  deeds  of  that  day,  would  not  be  sufficient  to  con- 
vict thera  before  a  court  of  justice."  A  moment's  thought  will  show  the 
utter  absurdity  of  the  only  points  which  are  specified  in  this  defamatory 
document.  Because  Mr.  Edward  Gunter  may  have  been  seen  passing 
through  woods,  on  the  borders  near  which  a  murder  v/as  committed, 
Mr.  Edward  Gunter  is  denounced  !  The  remark  on  Mr.  Lynch  is  so 
framed,  that,  though  it  has  the  strength  of  a  charge,  it  may  be  made  to 
wear  the  aspect  of  a  conjecture.  We  would  mention  that,  for  the  three 
days  before,  during  and  after  the  death  of  the  Ridges  and  Boudinot,  Mr. 
Lynch  was  at  the  house  of  his  father-in-law.  Judge  Martin,  forty  miles 
from  the  nearest  of  the  places  where  these  events  occurred.  Of  this  there 
is  abundant  evidence  (see  C  and  D) ;  so  there  is,  also,  that  no  party,  what- 
ever, breakfasted  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Lynch,  as  mentioned.  The  character 
of  this  case  may  serve  as  a  specimen  of  all  the  others.  When,  in  uttering 
these  misrepresentations,  the  phrases  "judging  from  the  best  information," 
and  "such  information  as  1  can  fully  rely  on,"  are  used,  it  may  always  be 
understood  that  the  informants  in  question  are  persons  in  the  interest 
of  General  Arbuckle,  or  immediately  connected  with  the  petty  faction  of 
agitators  ;  no  other  intelligence  is  trusted. 

Before  v/e  dismiss  tlie  subject  of  these  proscriptions  of  Cherokees  by  the 
United  States  Government,  it  is  proper  we  should  touch  on  two  other  cases, 
more  monstrous  than  even  any  of  the  former.  We  allude  to  that  of  Wil- 
liam Shorey  Coodey  (see  Senate  document,  page  9).  and  that  of  John  Ross, 
our  principal  chief.  Mr.  Coodey  told  the  Secretary  of  AYar  that,  in  his 
opinion,  traitors  ought  to  be  punished  ;  that  the  United  States  and  other 
nations  punished  traitois  as  well  as  the  Cherokees  ;  and  that  the  Cherokees 
who  had  destroyed  the  Ridges  and  Boudinot  had  considered  them  as  traitors, 
for  having  made  a  treaty  without  authority,  long  before  they  were  destroyed. 
On  account  of  this  private  conversation,  and  on  this  account  only,  although 
freedom  of  speech  and  sentiment  is  held  to  be,  upon  American  principles, 
every  man's  clearest  and  dearest  privilege,  the  secretary  openly  avows  that 
William  Shorey  Coodey  is  "excluded  from  all  participation  in  the  govern- 
ment" of  his  nation  !  Last  of  all,  we  would  beg  to  point  your  attention 
to  the  extraordinary  course  still  continued  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  with 
regard  to  Mr.  Ross.    At  first,  Mr.  Ross  was  the  murderer.     He  is  repelled 


Doc.  No.  222,  f 

as  such  from  the  presence  of  the  President  and  the  department.  The 
agitators,  who  have  been  received  with  so  much  favor,  in  their  farrago  of 
frantic  rf^vings  presented  to  Congress,  as  a  memorial  (see  Rep.  doc.  162  of 
26tli  Congress,  1st  session,  page  15),  exclaim :  "  He  comes  as  the  chief  of 
the  Cherokees,  offering  to  the  American  nation  the  hand  of  friendship. 
Can  it  be  received  ?  Can  it  be  touched  ?  Can  it  be  looked  upon  but  with 
abhorrence,  red  with  the  blood  of  his  brethren  ?"  Mr.  Ross  demands  of  the 
Secretary  of  War  to  be  confronted  with  the  charge  and  the  accusers.  His 
friends  are  told  "  the  evidence  shall  be  produced  in  the  progress  of  the 
investigation  which  has  been  instituted."  But  when  urged  to  complete  the 
investigation,  that  Mr.  Ross  "  might  have  an  opportunity  of  defending 
himself,  and  showing  that  the  e.r;j«ri!c  statements,  on  which  the  charge  was 
founded,  were  untrue"  (see  Senate  doc.  No.  347,  present  session,  page  5), 
it  does  not  seem  that  any  investigation  had  been  commenced.  The  Secre- 
tary replied,  when  pushed  to  the  point,  that  "an  investigation  was  unne- 
cessary, so  long  as  Mr.  John  Ross  refused  to  have  the  murderers  delivered 
up  to  justice."  In  page  9,  of  the  Commissioner's  report  (same  document), 
the  chara;e  then  dwindles  down  to  this  :  "  He  must  be  reo^arded  as  conniving 
at  those  acts  ;  or,  viewing  his  conduct  in  the  most  favorable  light,  as  unable 
to  protect  the  Indians  under  his  charge,  and  unwilling  to  punish  the  assas- 
sins." '-'The  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  he  is  pariiceps  criminis''' !  "Under 
these  circumstances  he  is  excluded  from  all  participation  in  the  govern- 
ment." The  flimsiness  of  this  pretext  for  crushing  an  innocent  man  seems 
to  us  only  equalled  by  its  rancor.  It  will  be  obvious  to  any  dispassionate 
observer  that  xMr.  Ross,  by  looking  into  this  affair,  would  have  exceeded 
his  powers,  and  could  not  but  have  excited  that  "  intestine  commotion"  in 
his  country  which  the  United  States  professes  it  should  always  be  a  para- 
mount duty  to  prevent. 

Once  more,  gentlemen,  we  most  respectfully  ask  you  to  compare  the  pro- 
scription which  the  United  States  Government  oflicers  ascribe  to  us,  with 
that  which  we  have  here  shown  from  your  own  documents  to  have  been 
practised  against  us  by  the  officers  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

It  would  involve  us  in  refutations  interminable  were  we  to  meet  every 
misstatement  in  the  documents  before  us.  The  almost  exclusive  scope  of 
the  representations  on  our  affairs  would  seem  to  be  to  create  false  showings 
under  which  the  United  States  may  justify  unwarrantable  demands.  Meet- 
ings are  described,  and  resolutions  are  reported,  which  make  a  mighty 
figure  on  paper  here  in  AVashington  ;  but  have  never  been  seen  excepting 
here,  and.  excepting  upon  paper.  Serious  allegations  are  made,  without 
even  a  shadow  of  evidence  being  tendered  in  their  support.  For  example  : 
When  General  Arbuckle,  in  document  347,  page  21,  says  of  Mr.  Ross,  "He 
has  now  attached  to  him  (as  I  believe)  a  number  of  the  most  cunning 
speculators  of  the  new  emigrants,  and  some  of  the  old  settlers,  who  desire 
to  profit  by  his  assistance  in  passing  their  accounts  or  claims,"  is  not  this 
meaning  too  much  and  saying  too  little  ?  Ought  not  the  general  io  have 
shown  why  he  believed  what  he  can  find,  we  assure  liim,  no  foundalicii  for 
in  fact  1  Equally  indefensible  is  the  attempt  of  General  Arbuckle,  in  the 
same  letter  which  contains  this  injury,  to  frame  another,  but  from  materials 
so  vague,  that  it  is  only  in  the  anomalous  document  purporting  to  be  a  me- 
morial, and  which  we  have  already  quoted,  that  we  have  been  able  to  detect 
what  he  really  intended.  He  transmits  to  the  department  a  copy  of  tlie 
decree  deposing  Brown  and  Rodgers ;  and,  also,  the  act  of  union  which  he 


8  Doc.  No.  222. 

says  passed  on  the  12th  of  .luly,  and  reports  under  that  dale,  with  the  sig- 
nature of  John  Looney  and  others  ;  and  he  says  that,  from  these  papers, 
with  the  rest,  the  department  can  judge  of  "  the  character  of  Mr.  Ross  for 
veracity."  In  the  memorial  of  the  agitators,  to  which  wo  have  referred 
(see  page  10  of  Rep.  doe.  No.  162).  a  great  clamor  is  raised  against  the 
"  recreant  chief,  John  Looney,"  and  insinuations  are  cast  against  John  Ross, 
because  on  the  12th  of  July,  when  the  act  of  union  is  dated,  bearing  John 
Looney's  signature,  this  western  chief  was  acting  with  his  former  coadju- 
tors, whom  he  did  not  quit  till  the  latter  part  of  August.  That  John  Loo- 
ney did  not  sign  the  act  of  union  till  the  23d  of  August  is  perfectly  true. 
It  is  equally  true  that  the  date  (August  23)  specially  affixed  to  his  signa- 
ture, is  omitted  in  the  copy  of  the  act  sent  to  the  department  by  General 
Arbuckle,  though  affixed  to  the  original,  and  so  published  officially  by  the 
Cherokees.  Is  it  fair  to  make  such  an  omission,  for  which  General  Arbuckle 
would  seem  the  only  one  really  responsible,  the  ground  of  so  serious  an 
imputation,  and  that  uttered  by  the  general  himself?  The  act  of  union 
was  submitted  to  the  national  convention  on  the  12th  of  July.  It  was  sent 
to  certain  western  Cherokees,  then  holding  an  assembly  apart  from  the 
great  majority  of  the  nation.  After  deliberate  consideration,  and  after  the 
signature  of  the  act  which  deposed  Brown  and  Rodgers,  and  which  their 
appeal  for  the  military  invasion  of  the  country  forced  upon  the  people,  then' 
it  was  that  .John  Looney  signed  the  act  of  union,  and  then  it  was  that  he 
and  many  of  his  constituents  identified  tliemselves  with  the  majority ; 
annexing  to  their  signatures  the  precise  date  (August  23)  of  the  day  on 
which  they  were  added  to  the  former  ones.  We  deny  another  imputation 
asserted  in  General  Arbnckle's  letter  (see  page  21  of  Senate  document  347). 
The  General  says  that  most  of  those  who  signed  what  is  called  Looney's 
decree,  deposing  Brown  and  Rodgers,  thought  they  were,  only  remonstra- 
ting  against  a  white  Governor.  For  this  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  founda- 
tion. 

It  would  leave  our  communication  incomplete,  were  we  to  close  it  with- 
out some  notice  of  a  remark  contained  in  the  intemperate  paper  presented 
to  Congress  as  a  memorial,  and  to  which  we  have  in  some  previous  pas- 
sages alluded.  That  paper  represents  of  the  bulk  of  our  nation  from  the 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  that  on  their  arrival  "they  found  the  west  Chero- 
kees with  a  settled  government,  and  laws  and  officers  duly  appointed  to 
administer  them."  We  will,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  state  exactly  how  the 
bulk  of  the  eastern  Cherokees  found  the  government  of  the  west  circum- 
stanced when  they  arrived,  and  what  afterward  became  of  that  govern- 
ment. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  explain  in  the  outset,  how  the  western  representa- 
tives and  rulers  were  elected,  under  their  own  laws. 

There  were  three  chiefs,  elected  by  the  national  council,  or  representa- 
tives of  the  people.  The  national  counsellors  were  elected  for  two  years  ; 
the  three  chiefs  for  four.  The  allotted  term  of  service  of  the  counsellors 
expired  by  law  in  August,  1839,  at  which  time  there  should  have  been  a 
new  election.  The  term  of  service  of  the  chiefs  expired  in  October,  1839, 
which  also  was  the  period  for  a  new  election  of  chiefs  ;  the  law  requiring 
the  new  election  always  to  be  simultaneous  v/ith  the  close  of  the  old  term. 

It  so  happened  that  "when  the  bulk  of  the  nation  arrived  from  the  east  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  western  people  and  their  government  seemed  to  be 
standing  still,  as  if  astounded  by  vague  expectations  of  some  strange  event. 


Doc.  No.  22?.  9 

The  principal  chief  of  the  western  Cherokees,  Jolly,  had  died  in  Decem- 
ber, 1838.  The  next  chiefs  JJrown,  some  time  belore  this  had  sent  in  his 
resignation.  There  was,  in  fact,  but  one  chief  leg-ally  in  power,  and 
whose  power  could  not  ol  itself  expire  till  October,  1839.  That  one  chief 
was  John  Looney. 

Presently  after  the  arrival  of  the  eastern  Cherokees,  the  ex  western  chief 
(Brown)  called  a  privateand  informal  meeting  of  the  western  national  council. 
About  one-half  tlie  members  attended:  when  complete,  the  council  consist- 
ed of  sixteen.  The  eight  thus  informally  convened,  as  informally  nomi- 
nated Brown  to  till  the  vacancy,  till  the  following  October,  created  by  the 
death  of  Jolly,  the  principal  chief:  thus  overstepping  John  Looney  (the  legal 
incumbent),  but  creating  him  second  chief,  and  appointing  John  Rodgers 
third  chief.  It  was  fully  understood  that  these  measures  were  sanctioned 
by  General  Arbuckle.  Subsequently  the  meeting  at  Double  Springs  (or 
Ta-ka-to-kah)  was  called,  which  professed  to  welcom.e  the  eastern  Cliero- 
kees,  but  to  claim  them  as  subjects.  This  assembly  took  place  in  June. 
On  the  following  August,  when  the  term  for  electing  a  new  national  coun- 
cil arrived,  no  election  was  attempted.  Hence,  after  the  month  of  August 
there  were  no  representatives  of  the  western  Cherokees  authorized  by  law. 
It  was  in  this  very  month  of  August,  which  ended  the  term  of  the  repre- 
sentatives, that  the  chiefs  informally  elected  by  eight  western  Cherokees 
were  formally  deposed;  not,  as  has  been  stated,  by  the  "council  ofJMr. 
Ross,'"  but  by  their  own  constituents  who  had  assembled  apait.  These 
western  constituents,  having  signed  the  act  deposing  the  two  objectionable 
chiefs,  went  over,  headed  by  John  Ljoony,  Aaron  Price,  and  others,  to  the 
majority,  who,  having  assumed  in  the  interval  when  no  government  re- 
mained the  right  of  acting  for  themselves,  nov.^  completed  the  act  of  union. 
After  this  they  adopted  a  constitution,  organized  a  new  legislature,  passed 
laws,  and  established  the  present  regular  governmenl.  Ivleanv/hile  John 
Rodgers,  one  of  the  deposed  western  chiefs,  linked  him.self  with  the  treaty 
party,  and  made  his  headquarters  mostly  at  Fort  Gibson,  with  General 
Arbuckle,  John  Brown,  the  other  western  chief,  is  mentioned  by  the  In- 
dian Commissioner,  in  his  report,  document  347,  page  4  (on  the  inform- 
ation of  General  Arbuckle),  as  having  "gone  to  Mexico  in  search  of  a 
new  country  for  himself  and  his  friends."  The  general's  letter,  declaring 
this,  is  given  at  length  in  page  27  of  the  same  document.  But  a  letter  in 
page  40  of  the  same  document,  from  one  of  John  Brown's  partisans  (George 
W.  Adair),  addressed  to  his  friends,  J.  A.  Bell  and  Stand  Watie,  represents 
their  late  coadjutor  (John  Brown)  very  differently.  Adair  says  "  Brown  has 
deserted  his  country^  and  gone  to  seek  an  asylum  in  Mexico." 

Notwithstanding  the  steady  and  successful  march  of  the  now-united  na- 
tion toward  a  composure  of  all  the  troubles  of  the  country,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  liberal  constitution  and  patriarchal  laws,  the  wreck  of  the 
small  party  of  agitators,  still  sustained  by  General  Arbuckle,  continued  to 
act  as  if  they  had  authority.  In  October,  1839,  although,  as  we  have 
shown,  there  had  been  no  elections  to  authorize  a  council  competent  to 
create  chiefs  and  transact  business,  these  individuals  called  a  public  meet- 
ing at  Ta-ka-to-kah.  About  forty  or  fifty  persons  appeared,  and  these 
mostly  of  the  Schermerhorn  treaty  party,  among  whom  were  a  few  old  set- 
tlers. A  number  of  these  clubbed  together,  voted  themselves  a  council, 
and  this  informal  club,  self-dignilied  with  a  popular  title,  elected  Dutch, 
Rogers,  and  Smith,  their  chiefs.     The  rest  of  the  nation  looked  on  the 


10  Doc.  No.  222. 

whole  affair  with  utter  indifference ;  nor  would  it  ever  have  risen  into  re- 
membrance, but  for  the  consequence  given  to  it  by  the  support  of  General 
Arbuckle. 

It  is  to  this  factitious  council  that  the  Indian  Conamissioner  alludes  in 
page  3  of  his  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  contained  in  Senate  document 
No.  347,  26th  Congress,  1st  session,  and  of  whom  the  Commissioner  states  : 
"  On  the  5th  of  JNovember  a  decree  was  adopted  at  a  '  national  council,  in 
general  council  convened,'  of  the  old  settlers,  denouncing  the  proceedings 
of  Mr.  Ross  and  his  party,  which  are  declared  null  and  void ;  protesting 
against  the  transaction  of  any  business  by  the  Koss  delegation  now  in  this 
city,  with  the  Government,  for  or  on  behalf  of  the  Cherokee  Nation  :  de- 
claring that  no  act  of  theirs  shall  be  binding;  and  that  no  money,  belonging 
to  the  Cherokee  Nation,  in  the  shape  of  national  funds,  shall  or  can  be 
drawn  from  the  United  States  Government,  or  its  officers,  without  author- 
ity given  and  empowered  by  the  national  council,  and  the  same  sanction- 
ed by  the  chiefs." 

Having  thus  candidly  explained  the  manner  in  which  what  is  thus  self- 
styled  a  "national  council,  in  general  council  convened,"  was  got  up 
and  continued,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  upon  its  monstrous  pre- 
tensions. It  was  from  this  same  pretended  council  that,  as  the  Indian 
Commissioner  reports  (see  document  347,  already  quoted,  page  3),  "an  ap- 
plication was,  late  in  November,  addressed  by  the  chiefs.  Rodgers,  Smith, 
and  Dutch,  through  the  agent  and  superiniendent,  to  the  department,  which 
was  received  on  the  2Sth  December,  requesting  that  a  delegation  of  five 
might  be  permitted  to  visit  Washington  to  represent  their  grievances,  and 
meet  the  Ross  delegation  at  the  seat  of  Government."  "  They  were  inform- 
ed," adds  the  Commissioner,  under  date  of  2d  January,  "  that  this  was 
thought  to  be  unnecessary;  that  the  Cherokee  difficulties  were  understood, 
and  that  the  Government  would  do  what  was  right  and  proper  under  the 
circumstances."  Yet,  notwithstanding  they  were  so  informed,  they  came  to 
Washington,  and  have  sent  to  Congress,  in  the  shape  of  a  memorial,  the  doc- 
ument we  have  already  noticed  more  than  once.  It  is  a  tissue  of  misrepre- 
sentations against  us  and  our  country,  and  a  mass  of  extravagant  claims,' 
calculated  to  destroy  all  hope  of  peace  among  us  for  ever,  if  supported  by  the 
authorities  here,  as  the  signers  have  been  in  the  west,  whore  Fort  Gibson  has 
been  their  leading  place  of  rendezvous,  and  its  commandant  apparently' 
their  principal  director.  It  may  be  further  remarked  upon  General  Ar- 
buckle's  praise  of  this  party,  and  of  their  leaders,  as  "  all  respectable  men  :" 
that  Smith,  one  of  the  now  self-styled  chiefs,  is  the  very  person  against 
whom,  awhile  previous,  General  Arbuckle  called  upon  Mr.  Ross  to  take 
proceedings,  under  the  charge  that  he  was  collectmg  a  body  of  men,  by 
subscription,  to  attack  Fort  Wayne.  The  reports  were  examined,  and 
found  to  be  false.  The  accuser  fled  ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  Smith  ap- 
peared (under  the  patronage  of  General  Arbuckle)  as  one  of  the  heads  of 
what  the  General  is  pleased  to  regard  as  the  legitimate  government  of  the 
Cherokees.  At  the  career  of  John  Rogers,  the  other  pretended  chief,  we 
have  glanced  already.  Dutch,  who  heads  the  triumvirate,  identified  him- 
self with  the  majority  of  the  nation  in  the  earlier  measures  of  the  conven- 
tion. He  probably  is  under  guidance  now ;  and  not  understanding  English, 
may  not  be  thoroughly  familiar  with  all  he  is  used  to  sanction. 

We  trust  we  have  shown,  in  the  preceding  exposition,  and  satisfactorily, 
that  if  there  is  any  foundation  for  the  sooften-reiterated  charge  that  a  gov- 


Doc.  No.  222.  ft 

ernment  in  the  west  has  been  usurped,  we  are  not  the  usurpers.  We  have 
thought  it  due  to  our  country  to  put  you  in  possession  of  the  facts  upon  this 
point,  as  well  as  upon  others.  We  regret  that  the  multiplicity  of  the  slan- 
ders artfully  disseminated  against  us,  has  compelled  us  to  detam  you  so  long- 
on  our  affairs  ;  but  ere  we  dismiss  this  subject,  we  will  crave  your  contin- 
ued patience  while  we  add  a  iew  words  in  relation  to  our  actual  position  at 
this  moment. 

The  persons  professing  to  be  a  western  delegation,  in  their  memorial 
which  forms  Representative  document  No.  162  of  the  present  session,  claim 
for  the  minority  of  the  nation,  who  were  established  in  the  west  prior  to  the 
arrival  of  the  great  bulk  of  the  people  recently,  the  right  to  hold  the  new 
comers,  no  matter  what  their  numbers,  "subject  to  their  laws  and  their  offi- 
cers" (see  page  3),  because  '-their  numbers  could  not  affect  their  rights,  nor 
impair  those  of  the  people  to  whom  they  thus  came.  They  came,"  con- 
tinues the  memorial,  "  under  the  treaty  provisions  to  join  their  brethren. 
It  they  came  in  such  numbers,"  it  proceeds,  "  as  to  constitute  a  nJlijority, 
there  would  be  less  reason  for  their  insisting  on  havmg  a  governmt^nt  of 
their  own.  or  on  putting  down  the  existing  government  and  establishing  a 
new  one ;  for,  being  a  majority  of  the  people  they  thus  joined,  they  could 
elect,  when  the  period  came  on,  whom  they  pleased."  We  would  here  beg- 
yon  to  remark,  gentlemen,  that,  before  the  period  prescribed  for  such  an 
election,  the  western  minority,  had  its  schemes  not  have  been  thwarted, 
would  have  possessed  itself  of  all  moneys  due  to  the  Cherokee  Nation,"  and 
then  what  would  have  been  the  situation  of  the  majority,  robbed  of  the 
public  purse  by  those  who  were  claiming  to  bring  them  under  subjection  ? 
The  proof  of  the  attempt  to  seize  the  national  treasure  will  be  found  in 
Executive  Rep.  document  No.  2,  pages  355,  No.  1.  If  any  doubt  could 
arise  as  to  the  extent  of  this  design  upon  our  money,  it  will  vanish  on  refer- 
ence to  Senate  document  No.  347,  pages  16  and  17,  where,  in  Nos.  4  and  5, 
what  the  real  plot  was  is  more  boldly  explained,  and  still  sought  to  be  car- 
ried. No.  5  exhibits  the  device  for  eventually  buying  up  the  majority  with 
its  own  money.  It  may  be  remarked,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  crisis  might 
have  seemed  a  peculiarly  appropriate  one  for  the  purpose.  It  would  have 
found  us  in  a  state  of  the  most  galling  destitution.  A  large  portion  of  our 
people  had,  in  our  original  country,  through  tlie  extraordinary  circum- 
stances of  our  capture,  lost  their  all ;  and,  on  arriving  at  the  country  whither 
we  were  forced,  they  were  rendered  more  destitute  than  ever  of  the  means 
of  creating  new  homes  by  the  want  of  even  health  and  strength.  The  ad- 
vances made  to  some  of  them  by  the  commissioners  on  account  of  improve- 
ment claims,  had  been  so  meager  as  rather  to  exasperate  than  relieve  their 
wasted  condition.  Many  were  without  axes  to  cut  logs  for  cabins,  having 
been  forced  away  too  abruptly  to  gather  their  farming  implements;  and 
they  had  now  no  power  to  su])ply  their  loss.  When  they  pressed  for  the 
payment  of  their  various  individual  claims,  every  inquiry  concerning  the 
moneys  expected  to  have  been  forwarded  to  the  United  States  agents  was 
answered  evasively  and  mysteriously.  Their  suffering,  tlirough  scantiness 
of  food, 'might  have  been  mitigated  had  they  retained  the  means  of  sup- 
plying themselves  from  the  chase;  but  the  arms  taken  from  them  by  the 
military  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  restoration  of  which  in  the  west 
was  promised,  were  not,  and  have  not  yet  been,  delivered  ;  nor  can  we  ob- 
tain any  knowledge  whatever  of  what  has  become  of  them.  Of  the  extreme 
dissatisfaction  created  by  these  untoward  circumstances  we  forbear  to  speak, 
but  will  return  to  the  point  whence  we  went  back. 


12  ...     ■      Doc.  No.  222. 

The  memorialists  also  call  this  minority  "a  free  and  independent  com- 
munity;'' speak  of  themselves  as  a  "separate  and  distinct  nation,  and  their 
rights  as  an  independent  people,  in  consequence  of  their  separation  from  the 
east  Cherokees,  and  their  establishment  in  a  distinct  territory,  fully  recog- 
nised." The  Indian  Commissioner,  on  the  other  hand,  in  page  10,  of  Senate 
document  No.  347,  says  of  this  minority  :  "  They  are  not  sovereign  and  in- 
depgndent  in  the  full  meaning  of  the  term ;  nor  are  they  so  in  reference  to, 
and  separate  from,  the  eastern  Cherokees."  "  These  people  are,  beyond  any 
doubt,  one  community,  however  distinctly  marked  are  the  parties  into  which 
that  commnnity  is  divided,  and  however  difficult  it  may  be  again  to  unite 
them  into  harmonious  feeling  and  action.  It  is  equally  clear  that  they  are 
not  entitled  to  tlie  exclusive  possession  or  ownership  of  the  seven  millions 
of  acres  of  land  ;  it  was  intended  for  the  use  of  tlie  whole  Cherokee  people, 
when  all  should  emigrate,  and  was  so  set  apart  by  the  consent  of  the  western 
Cherokees  themselves."  The  Indian  Commissioner,  in  another  document 
quoted^by  us  in  our  memorial  (See  Representative  document  No.  2,  page 
414,  No.  30)  clearly  defines  what  the  United  States  Government  desires  the 
Cherokees  should  understand  as  its  principle  in  dealing  with  them.  "  That 
the  majority  shall  rule,"  observes  he,  "is  an  axiom  in  politics  now  substan- 
tially admitted  everywhere,  and  one  that  must  prevail  universally.  It  is  as 
applicable,  and  its  adoption  as  necessary,  to  the  Cherokees  as  to  other  com- 
munities." From  these  two  paragraphs,  v/e  should  never  have  dreamed 
there  could  have  been  any  difhculty  in  deciding  who  it  was  that  the  United 
States  considered  as  entitled  to  the  gfoverning  voice  in  Cherokee  affairs. 
The  Commissioner  admits  that  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  belongs 
to  the  entire  nation,  and  not  to  a  part  of  it.  He  declares  that  the  voice  of 
the  majority  alone  will  be  recognised  as  the  nation.  On  this  principle,  the 
eastern  bulk  of  the  people  recently  arrived  in  the  west  clearly  constitute  the 
nation.  They  would  have  formed  the  majority  necessary  to  constitute  the 
nation  had  the  assertion  of  the  mainority,  that  they  amount  to  eight  thousand, 
not  have  been  the  palpable  exnggeration  it  is ;  for,  even  in  estimating  the 
original  number  at  one-sixth  of  the  entire  population,  they  are  largely  over- 
rated, and,  since  then,  they  have  dwindled  almost  to  nothing  by  coalitions 
with  the  great  mass.  Under  ihese  circumstances,  could  we  have  expected, 
when  we  came  to  appeal  to  his  ov/n  law,  that  the  majority  shall  rule,  to  find 
the  Secretary  of  "War  nullifying  all  his  professions,  by  himself  claiming  to 
rule  the  majority  ?  But,  incredible  as  it  may  be,  so  it  appears  he  seeks  to 
do  !  Finding  rulers  chosen  by  the  majority,  against  whom  he  has  objec- 
tions, in  the  hope  to  contrive  some  show  of  consistency  in  his  favor,  he  calls 
a  test  meeting  and  promises  to  abide  by  its  decision  on  all  matters  excepting 
one  ;  which  one  condition  for  the  restoration  of  his  coniidence  in  the  Chero- 
kees is,  merely  that  they  will  abrogate  the  decree  exacting  a  guarantee  from 
those  who  had  threatened  the  public  peace.  The  abrogation  is  instantly 
conceded;  but  it  then  appears  that  the  Secretary  hadi  only  promised  to 
abide  by  the  decision,  so  far  as  regarded  all  other  matters,  because  he  had 
hoped  it  would  have  been  given  against  the  wishes  of  the  Cherokees  and  in 
obedience  to  his  own ;  for,  finding  that  such  did  not  prove  to  be  the  case, 
he  forthwith  suspends  the  venerable  agent  who  dares  report  the  unwelcome 
truth.  Who  is  there  that,  upon  observing  a  high-handed  and  unprece- 
dented step  like  this,  would  not  pause  and  ponder?  We  ourselves  could 
not  refrain  from  doing  so.  We  could  not  refrain  from  asking  ourselves, 
was  there  any  deeplaid  schema  in  view  on  Cherokee  affairs  against  which. 


Doc.  No.  222.  |# 

it  might  be  expedient  that  thinking  eyers  should  be  closed?  Upon  exam- 
ining.various  public  documents  we  confess,  and  we  confess  it  with  deep 
concern,  we  have  discovered  indications  that  there  was.  The  attcnjpt  now 
making  to  anniiiilate  all  that  has  been  done  in  our  country,  and  to  substi- 
tute for  it  the  will  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  to  us  seems  to  result  from  a 
preconcerted  scheme  to  create  the  semblance  of  a  plea  for  official  interposi- 
tion, which  it  might  have  been  convenient  to  keep  unforeseen  ;  to  dena- 
tionalize us  under  the  pretext  of  necessity ;  to  legislate  us  into  nonentity. 

There  is  to  our  view,  in  the  opposition  between  the  construction  put  upon 
the  Cherokee  title  in  the  western  lands  by  the  individuals  whom  the  depart- 
ment upholds  against  our  nation,  and  the  construction  placed  upon  it  by  the 
department  itself,  a  significance  most  startling.  We  cannot  escape  from  the 
impression  that  such  contradictory  interpretations  of  the  same  thing,  thus 
emanating  from  the  same  source,  betray  a  settled  design  ;  that  they  have 
been  prepared  in  advance,  to  provide  a  plea  for  acting  on  the  opinion  expressed 
by  General  Arbuckle  (Senate  document  347,  pages  9  and  10),  who  says  ; 
"  were  he  permitted  to  exercise  his  own  judgment,  he  would  at  once  dissolve 
the  two  governments,"  and  erect  a  new  one.  This  violent  expedient  is  ac- 
tually adopted,  in  the  very  face  of  the  fact  that  the  view  taken  by  us,  in  our 
memorial,  of  the  title  in  the  soil,  accords  with  that  which  we  understand  the 
honorable  Secretary  to  express  as  the  view  taken  by  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, and  which,  therefore,  rendered  all  further  action  superfluous.  It 
is  adopted  in  the  face  of  repeated  and  solemn  evidences  of  the  will  of  the 
great  mnjority,  whicli  the  Secretary  declared  that  he  meant  to  deem  conclu- 
sive. In  pursuance  of  this  most  extraordinary  and  uncalled-for  scheme  of 
denationalization  (see  Senate  doc.  347.  p.  8),  orders  were  issued  to  Gene- 
ral Arbuckle  "instructing  him  what  results  it  was  desired  to  bring  about, 
viz  :  the  adoption  of  a  constitution  that  will  secure  to  every  individual 
Cherokee  his  personal  and  political  rights,  and  the  free  enjoyment  of  life, 
liberty,  and  property,  annulling  now  and  for  ever  all  such  barbarous  laws  as 
those  under  which  Boudinot  and  the  Ridges  were  put  to  death,  and  the 
penalty  of  outlawry  inflicted  upon  innocent  men.  You  must  be  aware," 
continues  the  Secretary,  "  that  all  such  laws  are  inconsistent  with  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  to  which,  by  the  treaty,  they  are  bound  to 
conform."  As  if'  with  the  express  view  of  pushing  mockery  to  the  ex- 
treme, here  is  a  call  on  us  to  abrogate  a  law  never  yet  revived  by  us,  and 
nov/  retained  only  by  the  very  western  faction,  who,  for  effect,  invoke  its 
repeal  on  our  side  ;  and  the  military  legislator  is  required  not  to  permit  any 
violation  of  the  privileges  secured  by  the  United  States  Constitution,  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  Secretary  who  gave  the  order  is  himself  excluding 
two  of  our  own  citizens  from  the  vital  privileges  of  that  Constitution — de- 
priving the  one  of  the  liberty  of  speech  and  of  opinion,  and  condemning 
the  other  for  great  crimes,  without  evidence  and  unheard  !  But,  apprehen- 
sive of  the  failure  of  these  devices,  it  appears  from  the  same  document  347, 
page  6,  that  "  it  was  suggested  by  William  Rogers,  John  A.  Bell,  and  Stand 
Watie,  on  the  22d  of  January,  that  the  feelings  of  the  respective  parties 
would  probably  prevent  their  living  comfortably  as  one  community  ;  and 
that  a  division  of  their  country  and  joint  pecuniary  interests  would'  be  ad- 
visable, and  conduciv^e  to  the  well-being  of  all  concerned.  This  suggestion 
was  communicated  to  General  Arbuckle  and  Captain  William  Armstrong, 
with  a  request  that  they  would  devise  and  submit  a  plan,  by  which  the  ob- 
ject they  desire  may' be  accomplished,  with  the  consent  of  the  parties  inter- 
ested." 


14  Doc.   No.  222. 

Thus  have  we  shown  that  there  are  two  schemes  at  this  moment  either 
before  the  Cherokees,  or  on  their  way  to  them — the  one  of  subverting  our 
o-overnment,  and  constitution,  and  laws  ;  of  cancelhng  the  authority  of  our 
cliiefs  ;  and  of  forcing  upon  us  a  new  government,  a  new  constitution,  and 
new  laws,  from  the  War  Department :  and  the  other  of  dismembering  our 
possessions  to  glut  the  cravings  of  certain  agitators.  We  have  also  shown 
that  those  agents,  who  have  hitherto  reported  the  truth,  are,  without  any 
charge  against  them,  suspended  from  the  power  of  seeing  the  truth.  And 
with  measures  thus  adroitly  taken  to  secure  such  a  report  as  the  Secretary 
may  desire,  nothing  is  likely  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  Congress  in  re- 
lation to  this  official  conspiracy,  but  what  they  may  approve. 

It  will  save  an  immense  loss  of  time,  and  trouble,  and  treasure,  if  Con- 
gress will  be  convinced  that  the  course  of  the  Secretary  of  War  in  our  case, 
is  one  which  will  do  unequalled  mischief,  and  eventually  fail.  We  say 
this  now,  for  there  is  yet  time  to  prevent  the  evil.  We  say  it,  too,  because  we 
claim  not  to  be  held  responsible  for  what  we  are  ardently  desirous  of  avert- 
ing— what  we  will  do  any  thing  in  our  power  to  avert.  But,  we  Cherokees 
are  men — we  cannot  but  feel  like  men — we  would  act  like  men.  We  think 
it  our  duty  to  say  plainly,  that  no  finessing  to  impose  an  unwelcome  gov- 
ernment on  us  will  succeed.  No  intrigue  to  dismember  our  possessions 
for  the  reward  of  individuals  will  be  tolerated  by  the  Cherokees.  We 
know  our  own  rights,  and  although  false  appearances  may  be  created  in  re- 
lation to  them  to  deceive  the  United  States  Congress  into  acts  of  oppression 
under  error,  these  deceptions  grieve  us,  but  can  have  no  other  effect. 

We  have  been  dispossessed  of  our  ancient  country  east  of  the  Mississip- 
pi, without  having  in  any  way  forfeited  our  rights  there,  and  we  request  to 
be  indemnified  for  its  loss.  We  many  years  ago  exchanged  lands  east  of 
the  Mississippi  for  lands  west  of  Arkansas  ;  and  we  ask  to  be  secured  in 
our  titles  to  those  lands.  We  also  desire  that  such  stipulations  may  be 
made,  as  shall  prevent  the  unreasonable  and  harassing  intrusions  of  any 
United  States,  civil,  or  military  power  within  our  boundary.  There  are  un- 
adjudicated  demands  arising  out  of  losses  in  our  forced  gathering  and  re- 
moval ;  apart  from  the  claim  for  our  ancient  country,  and  on  other  accounts. 
For  these,  our  situation  exacts  a  settlement. 

We  beg  to  add,  that,  as  there  may  be  many  minor  points  which  have  es- 
caped us,  and  upon  which  your  committee  may  require  more  light,  we  will 
be  happy,  either  personally,  or  in  writing,  at  any  time,  to  afford  all  the  inform- 
ation in  our  power  that  may  flicilitate  your  investigations. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be.  gentlemen,  with  profound  respect,  your  very 
obedient  servants, 

J  NO.  ROSS, 
E.  HICKS, 
.  .  W.  SHOREY  COODEY, 

JOSEPH  M.  LYNCH, 
.  GEORGE  HICKS, 

-  EDWARD  GUNTh^R, 

JOHN  X  LOONEY, 
ARCHIBALD  x  CAiMPBELL. 

Hon.  John  Bell, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs. 

Washington  City,  Aj^ril  20,  1840. 


Doc.  No.  222.  %§■ 

P.  S.  We  regret  to  mention  that,  in  the  printed  cop^  of  our  memorial, 
and  other  papers  submitted  to  Congress  on  the  2Sthof  February,  1840,  and 
forming  document  No.  129  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  26th  Congress, 
1st  session,  we  were  made  to  say  things  which  we  did  not  mean,  and  not 
to  say  things  which  we  did  mean.  Hiese  were  errors  of  the  press,  and 
doubtless  unintentional.  We  mention  them  here,  in  the  hope  that,  in  the 
printing  of  the  present  communication  and  the  accompanying  papers,  simi- 
lar njistakes  may  be  guarded  against. 


A. 

Illinois  Cou^x•IL-GI^ouND, 
III  General  Council,  July  1,  1839. 
Brothers  :  Considerable  excitement  has,  for  a  few  days  past,  prevailed 
among  us,  on  account  of  some  rash  acts  among  our  own  people.     And  we 
have  thought  proper  to  send  you  this  communication  to  prevent  any  un- 
pleasant feelings  which  might  be  created  by  false  rumors. 

The  lives  of  innocent  persons  were  threatened  by  some  individuals,  and 
we  were  compelled  to  take  up  arms  to  prevent  the  mischief  from  being 
done.  But  we  are  not  disposed  to  make  war.  We  wish  to  hurt  no  one  ; 
not  even  those  who  have  threatened  our  lives. 

We  wish  you  to  be  guarded  against  the  false  representations  of  designing 
and  wicked  men. 

The  interests  of  the  red  men  are  the  same.  Let  us  always  be  friends, 
and  for  ever  hold  each  other  firmly  by  the  hand. 

If  false  news  should  reach  you  concerning  us,  believe  it  not.  If  it  should 
be  repeated,  send  some  of  your  faithful  men  to  let  us  know,  and  to  hear  the 
tru.th. 

This  you  may  be  assured  of:  we  are  altogether  on  the  side  of  peace,  and 
it  is  our  determination  to  do  all  we  can  to  preserve  it. 

The  Cherokee  people  who  have  lately  come  to  this  country,  and  the  old 
settlers,  are  now  met  in  general  council,  and  we  hope  soon  to  have  all  difR- 
culties  adjusted  in  a  friendly  way  ;  which,  when  it  is  done,  we  shall  take 
pleasure  to  communicate  to  you. 

And  we  shall,  at  all  times,  be  happy  to  hear  from  you. 
Your  friends  and  brothers, 

J  NO.  ROSS, 
GEORGE  LOWREY, 
EDWARD  GUNTER, 
LEWIS  ROSS, 
LOONEY  PRICE. 
TOBACCO  WILL, 
YOUNG  WOLF, 
LEWIS  MELTON,  ' 

IRA  ROGERS, 
KENAH. 
To  the  Chiefs  of  ihe  Creek  Nation. 


16 


Doc.  No.  222. 


B. 

Cojvvention-Ground, 
Cherokee  Nation,  July  29,  1839. 

Friends  and  Brothers  :  We  have  thought  proper  to  address  you  these 
lines,  and  to  let  you  know  that  your  Cherokee  brothers  are  now  assembled 
in  council.  The  objects  are  to  form  a  reunion  of  the  people,  and  to  estab- 
lish a  government  suited  to  their  present  condition  and  wants,  under  which 
we  may  all  live  and  prosper.  These  desirable  ends  once  effected,  the  Chero- 
kees  would  be  prepared  to  form  new  acquaintances  with  all  their  neighbor- 
ing red  brethren,  and  to  cultivate  that  peace  and  friendship  which  have  for 
so  many  years  been  established  between  tliem  by  our  fathers. 

In  order  that  you  may  be  correctly  advised  of  the  true  situation  of  our 
affairs,  and  be  convinced  of  our  peaceable  and  friendly  disposition  toward 
every  nation  of  the  human  family,  we  would  be  gratified  to  see  some  of  you 
at  our  convention,  if  you  can  make  it  convenient  to  do  so.  Such  a  visit 
would  enable  you  to  learn  our  true  character,  and  to  detect  any  unfavorable 
or  ffilse  reports  which  may  have  reached  you  concerning  us. 

The  clouds  which  seemed  to  have  been  gathering  around  the  peace  and 
tranquillity  of  our  people,  it  is  hoped,  will  soon  be  dispersed,  and  that  we 
shall  again  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  a  calm  and  clear  day. 

Wishing  you  and  your  nation  peace,  prosperity,  and  happiness,  we  are 
your  friends  and  brothers, 

George  Lowrey, 
George  Guess,  his  x  mark. 
■'-  ;:■•!•         ,  "   •  ,    ■-.  ■     .  ,:    -      ■   ■■        Tobacco  Will,  his  X  mark. 
'-  Bark,  his  X  mark. 

■'    ■  :•/     .'.  '.  .  Small  Back,  his  X  mark. 

. -.;     ;  •.   ;  :  ,  .  Wahahchee,  his  X  mark. 

Lewis  Melon, 
V  •:,  .,  ,;  .-.    ■■■    :  ,    :  .  ■     .  G.  W.  Gunter, 

'  ;^  ,,  Thomas  Candy, 

:'    -    '•.■.•■..;     :.    ■;  ■  '■  Young  Wolf, 

,.■  V    "■■.-.,  ■  Jack  Spears, 

.    .      .    ,       '     ;    .•   .     .   ^  ..  .    ,     ;■  K.  Taylor, 

James  Brown, 
'  •.:•,-:.,.;..;.    '  Thomas  Foreman, 

Edward  Gunter, 
Lewis  Ross, 
.';..;        -  -  Bird  Doublehead, 

.■/.    ■  Charles  Coodey, 

George  Hicks, 
Looney  Price, 
Kiley  Keys, 
,      ■ , ,  /  Daniel  McCoy, 

'       Stephen  Foreman. 
By  order  of  the  convention  : 

JOHN  ROSS. 
To  the  chiefs  of  the  Senegas  and  Shaavnees, 

DeLAWARES  and  dUAPAWS. 


Doc.  No.  222.  17 


Washington  City.  April  15,  1840. 
Dear  Sir:  General  Arbuckle,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Honorable  J.  R. 
Poinsett,  Secretary  of  War,  dated  llth  December,  1839,  uses  the  following- 
language  :  "  And  it  has  been  frequently  reported  to  me  that  Mr.  Lynch,  who 
is  now  with  Mr.  Ross,  was  pret-ent  when  John  Ridge  was  killed,  and  that 
the  party  hahed  at  his  house  the  same  day,  where  they  took  breakfast."  My 
object  in  addressing  you  this  note  is  to  request  that  yon  will  please  to  state 
m  writing,  whether  or  not  you  saw  me  at  or  about  the  time  the  Ridges  and 
Boudinot  were  said  to  liave  been  killed;  and  if  so,  at  what  place,  and  if  yon 
can  recollect,  please  to  state  tlie  precise  day. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 


josi^:ph  m.  lynch. 


Col.  Thos.  C.  Hindman, 

Washington  City. 


D. 

Washington  City,  April  15,  1840. 

Sir  :  Your  note  ol  this  date  is  before  me  ;  in  which  you  request  that  I 
state,  in  writing,  whether  or  not  I  saw  you  at  or  about  the  time  the  Ridges 
and  Boudinot  were  said  to  have  been  killed:  and  if  so,  at  what  place,  and 
also  Ifie  precise  day.  I  understand  the  Ridges  and  Boudinot  were  killed  on 
Saturday,  the  22d  June,  1S39.  (John  Ridge  at  his  house  about  sunrise  of 
that  morning.)  I  left  Ta-ka-tokah  council  ground  on  Thursday  evening, 
20th  June,  1839,  for  Lewis  Ross's  residence  on  CJrand  river,  and  near  Judge 
Martin's,  on  that  evening,  1  met  you  in  company  with  another  person,  going^ 
in  the  direction  ot  Judge  Martin's  lower  farm:  and  on  Saturday  morning, 
22d  June,  I  was  returning  to  Parkhill,  from  Lewis  Ross's;  I  passed  the 
Grand  iSaline.  about  9  o'clock  in  the  mornimr,  and  at  that  place  I  saw  you. 
Pily  understanding  was  that  you  had  been  engaged  for  several  days  previous 
in  assisting  Judge  Martin  to  open  a  stock  of  goods  at  the  Grand  Saline. 
Consequently,  it  is  impossible  that  the  reports  received  by  General  Ai'buckle 
can  be  true  in  relation  to  you,  as  the  distance  from  Grand  Saline,  to  Joha 
Ridge's  is  at  least  forty  miles.  .  -.■.•', 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  C.  HINDMAX. 

Sir.  Joseph  M.  Lynch. 


Washington  City,  April  22,  1840. 

Gentlemen  :  There  are  certain  points  in  a  report  elicited  from  the 
Secretary  of  War,  by  a  resolution  requiring  information  on  Cherokee  af- 
fairs, upon  which  I  feel  it  due  to  myself  and  to  my  country  to  addres."? 
you.  I  could  only  have  been  led  to  take  this  freedom  by  the  manner  ia 
which  I  am  myself  mentioned  in  that  report.  It  exhibits  me  to  the  world 
as  an  individual  whose  feelings  are  inhuman,  whose  opinions  are  insur- 
rectionary, and  against  whom  soleiim  compacts  have  rendered  it  impera- 


IS  Doc.  No.  222. 

tive  upon  the  United  States  Government  to  issue  a  special  edict  of  pro- 
scription. Humble  as  I  am,  I  rely  on  your  sense  of  justice  for  a  hearing 
in  reply  to  these  grave  charges.  Had  I  dreamed  of  this  state  of  things 
when  I  left  home,  I  would  have  come  prepared  with  irresistible  docu- 
.mentary  evideace  on  various  points  ;  but,  ere  I  left  the  west,  I  thought  all 
•-o)ir  troubles.:  ended.  So  thought  the  Government  agents,  too ;  for  so 
they  informed  our  people.  But,  on  my  arrival,  I  was  not  less  astonished 
to  hear  that  our  country  was  reported  to  be  in  commotion  tlian  I  was  at 
being  called  upon  to  vindicate  myself  from  the  imputation  of  being  one 
of  its  troublers.     I  proceed  to  the  charge  against  me. 

The  honorable  Secretary  of  War,  communicating  on  the  7th  of  March, 
1840,  with  General  Arbuckle,  arrives  by  inference  at  what  he  professes  to 
consider  the  irresistible  conclusion  that  John  Ross  is particeps  criniinis 
"  in  the  foul  murders  committed  on  the  bodies  of  the  two  Ridges  and 
Boudinot,"  and  then  proceeds  upon  this  verdict  to  settle  the  manner  and 
extent  of  punishment  in  these  words  :  "  Under  these  circumstances,  he 
is  excluded  from  all  participation  in  the  (Cherokee)  Government ;  as  is, 
likewise,  William  Shorey  Coodey,  who,  in  conversation  with  me  in  my 
office,  persisted  in  considering  the  murders  committed  by  the  Cherokees 
upon  the  persons  of  Boudinot  and  the  Ridges  as  justifiable.  Men  who 
entertain  such  opinions  are  unfit  to  be  intrusted  with  power,  and  would 
soon  again  involve  the  nation  in  domestic  strife,  from  which  we  are  now 
called  upon  by  our  solemn  compact  with  the  Cherokees  to  protect  them." 

1  arrived  in  this  city  the  morning  previous  to  the  date  of  this  order, 
and  called  at  the  department  to  deliver  a  communication  intrusted  to  my 
care  by  the  Cherokee  agent.  The  honorable  Secretary  adverted  to  our 
difficulties  in  language  and  with  an  emphasis  evincing  much  bitterness. 
He  repeated  his  determination  never  again  to  have  any  intercourse  with 
Mr.  Ross ;  was  exceedingly  harsh  toward  the  Qiiurderous  'majority^  as  he 
frequently  characterized  us,  and  said  we  were  looked  down  upon  by  the 
whole  Christian  community  with  abhorrence. 

The  declaration  in  relation  to  Mr.  Ross,  and  the  impressions  enter- 
tained by  the  Secretary,  forced  upon  my  mind  the  natural  conclusion 
that  erroneous  reports,  and  the  absence  of  proper  information  at  the  de- 
partment, were  tending  to  produce  a  course,  which  might  create  great 
disasters  in  our  nation,  and  ultimately  be  its  ruin.  I,  therefore,  remon- 
litrated  against  the  position  assumed  toward  Mr.  Ross,  and  uttered  a 
belief  that  the  Government  was  pursuing  a  policy  likely  to  destroy  our 
happiness  •,  that,  if  the  officers  of  the  Government  continued  a  personal 
warfare  against  Mr.  Ross,  the  more  his  people  saw  him  unjustly  perse- 
cuted the  more  would  they  be  determined  to  sustain  and  defend  him  as 
the  chief  of  their  choice  ;  that  though  we  knew  the  power  of  this  Govern- 
ment could  destroy  us  at  any  time,  still  its  power  could  never  be  made  to 
influence  us  in  the  choice  of  our  own  local  officers.  If  the  right  of  self- 
government  were  forced  out  of  our  hands,  then  the  case  would  be  altered ; 
but  till  then  never.  I  slated,  also,  that  I  had  for  ^^ears  past  been  appre- 
hensive that  the  leaders  of  the  treaty  party  would  meet  the  fate  they  did. 
3  had  so  expressed  myself  to  Mr.  Harris,  while  he  Avas  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs :  no  interposition  could  have  prevented  it.  In  the  estima- 
tion of  their  countrymen  they  had  been  guilty  of  treason.  The  indig- 
nation,  which  had  been  lulled,  was  aroused  by  their  own  indiscretion; 
and,  if  another  such  treaty  were  made,  I  believed  the  Cherokees  would 


"n-  ■  ? 

Doc.  No.  222.  1& 

do  the  same  again.  Mr.  Poinsett  replied  that  no  such  treaty  ever  would 
be  made  again.  I  asked  if  the  Americans  had  not  laws  among  them- 
selves to  punish  traitors  with  death  ;  and  added  that,  however  we  might 
be  looked  upon  by  the  Christian  community,  we  had  no  worse  laws 
against  traitors  than  the  Americans,  and  could  place  our  hands  upon  our 
hearts,  and  declare  a  conscientious  feeling  of  innocence  against  the  charge 
of"  bloody  crimes." 

I  have  repeated  the  substance  of  my  remarks,  not  to  aggravate  the  sup- 
posed offence,  but  to  illustrate  more  clearly  opinions  which  it  is  made  un- 
lawful, immoral,  and  impolitic  for  particular  men  to  entertain.  In  that 
conversation  I  spoke  as  one  of  the  Cherokee  people,  in  explanatio7i  of  a 
matter  for  which  they  now  hold  themselves  collectively  responsible  ;  not 
as  an  isolated  mdiWidiUdl  justifijing  murder  and  crime. 

The  Secretary  repudiates  a  proscriptive  policy  by  the  majority  in  the 
nation,  and  vindicates  the  minority.  He  urges  the  adoption  of  a  consti- 
tution "  that  will  secure  to  every  individual  Cherokee  his  personal  and 
political  rights,  and  the  free  enjoyment  of  life,  liberty,  and  property." 
May  1  not  be  permitted  to  ask  by  what  right  the  Secretary  can,  with  a 
proper  regard  for  solemn  compacts,  pass  beyond  the  boundaries  of  all  the 
States  and  Territories  of  this  Union,  into  the  Cherokee  country,  and  with 
the  auxiliary  force  of  military  power  exercise  the  same  proscriptive  policy 
upon  the  local  otRcers  of  the  Cherokee  Government,  which  he  does  not 
intend  the  Cherokees  shall  practise  among  themselves  ?  Does  power  give 
such  right;  and  superior  intelligence  claim  its  exclusive  exercise?  If  he 
can  denounce,  proscribe,  and  eject  from  office  persons  selected  under 
Cherokee  laws,  may  he  not  also  fill  vacancies  thus  created  by  appointing 
officers  whose  opinions  accord  with  his  ?  And  to  what  will  this  not  lead? 
The  cause  for  my  proscription,  as  given,  is  opinion  ;  an  opinion  honestly 
entertained,  and  respectfully  expressed  in  conversation  ;  an  opinion  enter- 
tained b}'-  all  the  Cherokees,  save  a  few  individuals,  and  they  mostly  co- 
adjutors of  the  fallen.  And  if  I  am  thus  to  be  treated,  how  else  can  the 
vast  multitude  be  regarded  who  think  and  feel  as  I  do?  Follow  up  this 
principle,  and  make  this  opinion  the  standard  of  qualification  for  office, 
and  it  will  be  found  that  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  are  "  unfit  to 
be  intrusted  with  power." 

Tile  position  assigned  me  by  the  honorable  Secretary  invites  the  sup- 
position that  I  am  an  ambitious  agitator,  whose  reckless  violence  would 
liot  shrink  from  any  means  to  obtain  authority.  How  far  this  is  correct 
a  few  words  will  enable  all  to  judge.  It  may  also  be  fitting  to  explain, 
before  I  proceed  further,  that  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  emigrated  lately 
with  Mr.  Pvoss.  I  am  what  is  called  an  "  old  settler,"  and  have  Leen  many 
years  one  of  the  western  Cherokees.  More  than  three  years  ago  I  de- 
termined to  hold  no  office,  and  to  that  conclusion  adhered  until  last  Au- 
gust. Up  to  this  time  I  took  no  part  in  the  discussions  going  forward, 
and  had  refused  to  depart  from  my  resolution.  But  a  very  small  number 
of  persons,  during  the  summer,  organized  a  systematic  opposition  to  the 
wishes  and  choice  of  the  great  body  of  the  people,  and  received  an  impulse 
from  a  source  which  the  Clieiokces  deemed  improper.  Excitement 
strengthened  and  spread ;  an  appeal  was  made  by  the  feeble  faction  to  the 
United  States,  invoking  its  aid  to  enable  them  to  overawe  the  nation. 
Until  this  I  remained  quiet.  A  meeting  was  convened  by  the  old  settlers, 
and  I  received  a  letter  signed  by  thirty ^two  respectable  names,  and  among 


^0  Doc.   No.  222. 

them  the  second  chief  of  our  own  Avestern  Cherokees,  asking  my  aid  in 
their  efforts  to  counteract  the  evils  then  threatening  the  country.  The 
original  letter  is  herewith  submitted.  I  attended  the  proposed  meeting, 
and  participated  in  the  proceedings.  Since  then  I  have  faithfully  dis- 
charged the  duties  assigned  me  as  a  member  of  the  convention  that 
framed  the  constitution,  and  of  the  national  council  that  followed.  The 
station  was  unsought  by  me  and  undesired;  and  accepted  only  at  the  call 
of  my  country  when  she  was  in  danger,  with  the  avowed  intention  of 
.  withdrawing  as  soon  as  her  difficulties  become  settled. 

Though  the  Cherokees  are  accustomed  to  gratuitous  annoyances  in 
every  shape,  I  little  dreamed  that  a  citizen's  obedience  to  his  own  na- 
tion's call  for  aid  would  ever  have  been  treated  as  a  crime  by  officers  of 
the  United  States.  Yet  so  it  proved.  During  the  month  of  December 
last,  I  was  singled  out  as  one  to  be  added  to  some  previous  subjects 
marked  out  for  military  intimidation.  I  have  already  explained  that,  hav- 
ing looked  upon  our  affairs  as  entirely  settled,  I  did  not  come  to  Wash- 
ington prepared  with  documentary  evidence  of  all  the  wrongs  and  inju- 
ries I  have  a  right  to  complain  of,  not  only  on  my  own  account,  but  that 
of  others.  It  is  only  by  chance  that  I  find  myself  possessed  of  any  pa- 
pers to  corroborate  my  assertions  ;  but,  fortunately,  I  have  some  few  upon 
this  last  subject  I  enclose.  They  will  give  an  idea  of  the  repeated  at- 
tempts to  arrest  Mr.  Drew  (another  old  settler  and  member  of  the  national 
council),  as  well  as  myself  The  agent's  letter  to  General  Arbuckle  is  in 
the  West,  but  can  be  obtained  if  necessary.  Mr.  Drew  and  myself  did 
report  ourselves  to  the  general,  as  it  will  be  seen  he  desired.  The  agent 
accompanied  us.  The  only  pretence  assigned  by  the  general  for  hunting 
us  down  in  the  gloom  and  stillness  of  the  midnight  hour  proved  at  last 
to  be  simply  this  :  The  general  had  supposed  I  intended  a  month  before 
to  insult  him,  and  had,  consequenlly,  decreed  my  imprisonment  in  the 
garrison  guard-house  !  The  moment  I  disclaimed  ever  having  intended 
any  thing  of  the  sort,  I  was  freed  from  all  further  military  pursuit,  and 
the  monstrous  annoyance  ended  in  the  offer  of  a  drink,  which  I  declined. 
Mr.  Drew's  crime  consisted  of  having  been  in  my  company  when  the 
insult  was  supposed  to  have  been  intended.  There  was  another  oppres- 
sion of  the  same  sort  practised  against  Mr.  F.  A.  Kerr;  and  principally, 
it  would  seem,  because  he  was  my  brother-in-law.  A  detachment  of 
troops  suiTOunded  my  father's  residence  while  the  family  were  enjoying 
their  night's  rest.  Armed  men  with  fixed  bayonets  guarded  the  doors, 
while  others  closely  searched  the  house.  Mr.  Kerr  was  taken  prisoner, 
conveyed  to  the  fort  (a  distance  of  ten  miles),  confined  there  until  the 
following  day;  and,  on  being  liberated,  was  told  that  the  general  had 
heard  of  some  expression  he  had  used  for  which  he  must  consider  that 
as  tlie  general's  answer. 

I  would  here  respectfully  remark  to  you,  gentlemen,  that  it  is  to  the  in- 
terference of  the  military  commandant  in  the  local  politics  of  our  nation 
that  most  of  the  excitement  and  confusion  which  recently  distracted  us 
are  to  be  ascribed.  From  the  impulse  derived  from  that  source  a  small 
minority  have  attempted,  and  are  still  attempting,  to  obtain  supremacy; 
and  they  look  for  support  in  it  to  the  Government  and  the  soldiery  of  the 
United  States.  The  despotism  of  the  bayonet  is  trammelling  our  right  of 
thought  and  liberty  of  speech,  except  among  the  favored  few.  These 
are  privileges  to  which  we  have  always  been  told  that  every  American 


Doc.  No.  22a.  SI 

considers  every  fellow  creature  entitled.  The  denial  of  them  to  its  tenclsy 
not  only  to  bring  the  officers  of  your  Government  into  disrepute,  but  to 
destroy  our  people's  confidence  in  the  Government  itself 

i  make  no  further  comment.  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  considered  as  hav- 
ing done  more  than  duty  required,  in  endeavoring  to  repel  an  insinuation 
which  touches  my  character,  and  is  avowedly  intended  to  exile  me  from 
my  countiy.  That  I  look  with  confidence  to  you  for  redress  will  only 
prove  to  you,  gentlemen,  with  how  mucli  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

W.  SHOREY  COODEY. 

The  Hon.  Chairman  and  Committee 

On  Indian  Affairs,  House  of  Representatives. 


No.  1. 


Convention-Ground,  August  16,  1839. 

Gentlemen  :  We,  the  people  termed  old  settlers,  have  arisen  for  the 
purpose  of  consultino^  with  one  another  on  the  subject  of  the  conduct  of 
Mr.  John  Brown  and  Mr.  John  Rogers,  the  chiefs.  Whereas,  they  called 
a  council  to  convene  at  the  old  council-ground,  mouth  of  Illinois,  on  the 
22d  of  July  last :  and,  whereas,  the  said  John  Brown  and  John  Rogers,  in- 
stead of  settling  the  djliiculties  now  existing  with  the  lato  emigrants  and 
the  individuals  called  the  treaty  party  ;  and,  also,  having  already  refused 
to  iorm  a  union  between  the  old  settlers  and  the  late  emigrants,  but  turning 
the  settlement  over  to  the  hand  of  the  United  States:  Therefore,  we,  the 
undersigned  cUizens,  as  above  stated,  have  already  consulted  with  each 
other,  and  Mr.  J.  Looney,  the  second  chief  And,  whereas,  we  have  found 
Mr.  J.  Looney  approving  the  course  we  have  taken,  we  wish  to  have  you 
both  come,  and  your  friends,  without  delay ;  and  when  you  come,  you  can 
consult  with  Mr.  Looney  and  our  friends,  and  take  a  course  or  measure  to 
make  out  the  protest  against  John  Brown  and  John  Rogers,  the  chiefs,  and 
tJie  proceedings  of  the  late  council. 

We  are  looking  for  Mr.  George  Guess,  Tobacco  Will,  and  their  company, 
this  evening:. 

We  are  your  friends,  &c. 

Ijooney  Price,  J.  Bushyhead, 

David  Melton,  Louis  Melton, 

Young  Wolf,  Luney  Riley, 

Jack  Spears,  Riley  Keys, 

Daniel  McCoy,  Geo.  Brewer, 

Chas.  Gourd,  Moses  Parris, 

Phesent,  Swimmer,  his  x  mark. 

J  Jesse  Russel,  Bird  Cryer,  his  x  mark. 

Lenard  Fox,  John  Fox,  his  x  mark. 

Mistaken  Gritts,  Wm.  Gourd,         his  x  mark. 

Sar-kee-yau,  Bend  About,         his  x  mark. 

George  Bushyhead,     Ralph  Graves,      his  x  mark. 
James  Huges,  Head  Eater,  his  x  mark. 

Watter,  Tassel,  his  x  mark. 

George  Campbell,       Che-ke-le  be,        his  x  mark. 
-.  •  Bear  Pouch.  and  others. 


^2  Doc.  No.  222. 

I  have  been  consulted  with  as  above  stated.  I  am  willing  to  assist  and 
aid  my  people  in  the  course  and  efforts  they  have  taken  to  bring  about 
peace  and  justice  with  our  people  in  our  country,  as  far  as  my  power  will 
admit  of. 

I  am  yours,  cfcc. 

JOHN  LOONEY,  his  x  mark. 
John  Drew,  and 

W.  S.  COODEY. 


No.  2. 


Bayou  Menard. 
Cherokee  Natioii,  December  10,  1839. 

Sir  :  Night  before  last,  a  detachment  of  United  States  troops  surrounded 
the  house  of  Mr.  Joseph  Coodey ;  and,  after  arresting  Mr.  Kerr,  continued 
their  search  for  other  persons  whom  they  supposed  to  be  there,  but  found 
none  other  to  capture.  Last  night,  about  2  o'clock,  a  detachment  came 
out  and  surrounded  the  residence  of  Mr.  John  Drew,  and  searched  the 
buildings,  but  arrested  no  one  :  we  were  not  at  the  house  at  the  time.  From 
several  circumstances,  and  the  friendly  intimation  of  some  respectable  gen- 
tlemen, no  doubt  exists  that  we  were  the  persons  sought  for.  Both  of  us 
were  at  Gibson  on  Saturday,  and  Mr.  Drew  yesterday ;  and,  unless  it  is 
merely  to  aggravate  the  fact  of  an  arrest,  why  come  at  the  hour  of  midnight, 
as  though  we  were  wolves,  and  only  left  our  hiding-places  at  that  hour  ? 
If  it  had  been  made  known  to  us  that  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Gib- 
son had  business  with  either  of  us,  we  should  have  gone  at  any  day  or  hour 
that  might  hnve  been  named,  as  we  are  not  conscious  of  having  perpetrated 
any  crime  that  should  cause  us  to  fear  or  blush  at  the  sight  of  any  man. 
We  do  not  understand  the  object  of  these  proceedings ;  and  we  desire  to 
know  of  you,  as  the  United  States  agent  for  this  nation,  whether  the  Gov- 
ernment at  Washington  has  authorized  the  military  to  act  in  this  manner, 
and  why  it  is  so  ? 

We  desire  no  difficulty,  as  individuals,  with  any  one,  and  deprecate  the 
feeUng  and  excitement  which  will  result  from  such  movements  throughout 
the  country.  We  are  aware,  too,  that  General  Arbuckle  has  personally  in- 
terfered in  our  local  politics  to  an  extent  that  threatens  bloodshed  among 
some  of  our  people,  and  we  hope  and  trust  that  you  will  use  some  exertion 
to  counteract  the  influence  which  such  measures  will  lead  to.  If  we  are 
charged  with  any  offence  against  your  Government,  or  any  of  its  citizens, 
it  is  only  necessary  lo  give  us  the  information,  and  we  are  ready  at  any 
time  to  meet  them  anywhere.  The  officers  at  Gibson  know  us,  and  they 
know  that  we  are  not  likely  to  decline  a  fair  investigation  of  any  charge; 
but  we  protest  against  any  such  method  of  bringing  us  to  answer  allegations 
which  may  have  been  made.  It  looks  too  much  like  a  declaration  of  hos- 
tility on  the  part  of  the  military,  and  is  assuredly  too  well  calculated  to  pro- 
duce evil. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

W.  SHOREY  COODEY, 
JOHN  DREW. 

M.  Stokes,  Esq.,  U.  S.  agent. 


Doc.  No.  222.  23 

Mote. — After  this  letter  was  written,  another  detachment  was  ordered 
out,  commanded  by  a  major,  for  our  arrest ;  but  returned  unsuccessful,  as 
the  others  had  before, 

W.  SHORE Y  COODEY. 


Headquarters,  2d  Dept.,  W.  Division, 

Fort  Gibson,  December  11,  1839. 

Sir:  Yours  of  the  10th  instant  has  been  received;  and  1  am  directed 
by  the  commanding  general  to  say,  that  if  Messrs.  Drew  and  Coodey  will 
immediately  come  into  the  garrison  and  report  themselves,  that  they  will 
be  permitted  to  do  so,  and  to  return,  without  any  molestation  from  the 
military. 

I  am,  sir,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  G.  SIMMONS,  A.  D.  C. 
and  A.  A.  AdjC.  Gen.,  2d  Dept.,  W.  Division. 
Governor  Stokes, 


Agent  for  the  Cherokees. 

A  true  copy 


M,  STOKES, 
Agent  for  Cherokee  Nation. 


Cherokee  Agency, 
Bayou  Menard,  December  12,  1839. 

Gentlemen  :  I  herewith  send  you  a  copy  of  a  letter  I  received  yester- 
day from  General  Arbuckle. 

As  I  stated  in  my  letter  to  the  General  that  you  would  comply  with  what 
you  both  stated  to  me;  that  you  did  not  like  to  be  arrested  in  the  dead  hour 
of  the  night,  but  would  obey  any  civil  request,  provided  you  were  left  free 
from' confinement;  the  general  has,  in  this  letter,  pledged  himself  that  you 
may  go  and  return  unmolested.  My  advice  is,  that  you  both  go  in  to  the 
general's  house  and  report  yourselves,  as  he  has  suggested. 

1  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

M.  STOKES, 
Agent  for  Cherokee  Nation. 

Messrs.  Wm,  S.  Coodey  and  John  Drew. 


Photomount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gayiord  Bros. 

Makers 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PAT.  JW)  ?1,  1303 


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